The lonely road of networking

If you are new to the networking game, it can seem like an endless round of breakfasts, after-work functions and lunches where business cards are swapped and promises to call are made. Sometimes, you can meet a hell of a lot of people - but what happens if none of them turn into customers? It can be easy to wonder if all that networking is worth it.

Yesterday, I spoke to a small business entrepreneur who has been busy networking to promote her new business. She bemoaned that fact that none of the people she's met have turned into customers yet.

If you're in a situation like this, you're obviously not alone. But networking takes patience. More importantly, it takes a paradigm shift in your way of thinking. If you are hoping that the people you meet are going to turn into customers, try flipping your attitude. Think about ways you can help them.

That's right. How can you actually help them with their business - or whatever issues they may be facing right now?

It's an approach that ensures you don't look like you're only after one thing! If you are only networking in an attempt to turn your new contacts into leads, that will be really obvious in all your interactions. And if you continue with that approach, don't be surprised if people subtly try to head to the bar or the toilets next time they see you approach.

Many years ago, I worked for a savvy small business entrepreneur who was a consummate networker. He went out of his way to help his contacts. He even spent an hour each day reading magazines and websites to see if there were any articles his contacts would find interesting. Then he'd forward them on with a note. He would also introduce people who he thought would benefit from knowing each other - expecting nothing in return.

Invariably, his contacts considered him thoughtful and well-connected. And he developed a reputation of being the "go to" guy around town. To this day, he's never advertised and yet his client list is always full.

Approaching networking with the right attitude and it's not only enjoyable, but there will be positive results for your bottom line.

What's your best networking tip?

Posted
by Valerie KhooSeptember 12, 2007 6:59 AM

LATEST COMMENTS

Well said Brian - "a servant heart."
If I go into meetings, social gatherings with a "go for it" attitude, it will not be long before people begin to avoid me - they will see straight through me - as a "one way swimmer."

When I put others before myself, asking them about themselves and their business,rather than brag about myself, then people see me differently.

It's a very old philosophy - treat others, and their needs, as more important than myself. Seek to be a blessing to others, instead of always looking for hwat I can get.

Posted by: Charles Flesfader on September 19, 2007 9:00 PM

AMANDA, this is in response to your post of September 14, 11:31am

Greetings from rural Australia.

Networking is more than attending functions.

I have not been near a function since 1994. Yet I network every day.

I live and work from a rural property in the Central Tablelands of NSW. I have to drive 80 kilometres just to buy a litre of milk. I am not inclined to get in my car and travel for at least an hour each way to attend a luncheon. And I would never do so for an evening function because of the danger of kangaroos, foxes, wombats, stray cows and sheep that might be on the road at night and cause me to crash. Yes. It has happened to me and it is not something I want to repeat.

I use the telephone and email to network. I create my own opportunities to stay in contact with other people in business.

I keep in regular contact with my own customer base, which is in the tens of thousands, through the mail, email and very special private offers. My customers expect to hear from me at least 4 times a year.

But I also have a need to keep in touch with other men and women in business so I can keep abreast of business trends as well as my need to talk to someone other than a customer.

Before our escape to the bush and before I was the co-founder of The Fitz Like A Glove (tm) Ironing Board Cover, I had a thriving market research consultancy in Sydney.

Because I write my own brochures and articles for publication, I use that background as an opportunity to stay in touch and open doors to network.

I pick a topic that will interest my customers and prospects, and ring business men and women to see if I can interview them for my next brochure/article. To get their opinion about the topic I am writing about. I quote them in my brochures/articles and make sure I send them a copy.

This is how I make yet another business friend. Whom I can contact at any time to ask any question or favour or the name of someone who they know who might be able to help me for whatever reason. And they in turn ring me to see if I can help them.

My business friends now include a host of people from celebrities, journalists, Telstra Business Women Of the Year, CEO’s of major companies etc. All I did was pick up the phone and ask their permission to quote their opinion in my brochures, articles, etc.

Am I lucky I can write? Or am I lucky I used my ability to write to establish my own networking circle without leaving my rural property?

We also have a Private Offer Vault. This is where we offer very special products to our existing customers only, by invitation.

In putting these joint ventures together, I am on the phone almost every day talking to people I have never met before, making friends with them, and inviting them to offer their products to my customers.

In this process I make sure I am helping them. Not them helping me.

We only approach small businesses with high quality products, and whenever possible, made in Australia.

In the course of this particular joint venture activity, I have helped small businesses to become aware of the infinite possibility out there to please people.

Yesterday, I contacted 15 leather companies, from White Pages Online, to find a particular product. None were able to help me.

This morning, a gentleman I talked to yesterday, rang to ask me what kind of products were out there. He was curious and had never talked to anyone outside his industry about his market segment or his competitors. And because I sounded so friendly and chatty on the telephone, he felt confident to ring me back.

We spent over an hour on the telephone discussing what I discovered and where he might be able to expand his market and what products he might be able to design and make. We discussed marketing practice and at the end of the phone call we were both delighted.

I made a friend and future contact and learned something from him I was not aware of previously. And he now has more information about his competitors than he ever thought possible.

That is also called networking.

Every time the service station owner or the convenience store manager goes out of their way to help a customer, that is also called networking.

Anytime someone comes into their establishment just to ask directions and that person gets the help they need, it is also called networking.

They have made another friend.

I hope this helps change mindsets about what networking really is. About how you can use it to expand your business friends and develop meaningful, solid relationships that have nothing to do with getting business but everything to do with just helping another person.

From the posts on this forum, it seems like there is no better marketing tool than networking!

But networking wont work all the time - especially if you own a conveience store or service station. It would work best in business to business markets.

For all the people who posted - do you qualify which events you go to? And How? How much money would you spend on attending these functions per month and year? What is your ROI (return on investment) for networking?

I think the ROI would be good for some types of business. But marketing is all about creating sustainable value for your customers. Its not going to be sustainable if you spend a lot of money on networking functions and they don't work for your industry :)

That said, being an extrovert, I do like networking!

Posted by: Amanda on September 14, 2007 11:31 AM

My biggest and best clients have come from networking. If you take the approach of farming rather than hunting good referrals that are what you are seeking come. Something I have been apart of for coming up 10 years with success is structured word of mouth marketing (networking) www.bni.com.au have a look.

Posted by: Glenn on September 13, 2007 10:25 AM

I'm still waiting on the evidence.

I suspect networking is popular with extraverts - who do it anyway.

Any information Valerie? As Amanda says it is very hard to come by.

Posted by: Evan Hadkins on September 13, 2007 10:17 AM

VALERIE,

Greetings from rural Australia.

To Evan Hadkins request of “show me the money, tell me the figures, give me the evidence that it works,” I suggest everyone reads the response from Carolyn Stafford.

If you have any doubts about the value of building relationships through networking, Carolyn has well and truly quashed them.

Carolyn understands only too well the value of a ‘lifetime customer’. And the principle of giving before you get.

It is hard to turn down someone who is offering you help with no other ulterior motive. Many small professional service businesses have blossomed with their attitude of ‘what goes around comes around’.

Whenever you do something good or helpful for another person, at some stage, you will receive the same in kind. It may not be immediate, but you are building up a reserve that is just like a bank account. Your relationship building is an asset to be used in a positive way.

Selling comes in two forms.

Commodity selling, which is when the customer treats you, your service and your product as a commodity. The customer cannot tell the difference between you and most of your competitors. And they rarely show loyalty to you.

For a small business, the best form of selling is Carolyn’s style. Relationship building. It takes longer, but those relationships are solid and are there forever. It is no different to the relationships you have in your personal life. Those with your family, your spouse/partner, your children, your friends.

Sometimes you give more than you get. Sometimes you get more than you give. But 10 years down the track, those relationships are still in place and the rewards always outweigh the snags. And you can always call on those relationships when you need a helping hand, as Carolyn did.

For a small business, the single most powerful reason your customer/client/prospect keeps doing business with you is the warm, cosy relationship you have with them. And if your product or service stands up to the quality test, you cannot be beaten by anyone else.

To the calls of ‘it is too much work and it takes too long to network’, ask yourself this. How much effort does it take to continuously get new customers every year? As opposed to the effort of keeping a stable customer base that you add to incrementally every year?

That stable customer base trusts you because they know you and will be responsive to just about anything you offer them. And you will only offer them the best because you value them as a lifetime customer.

It is always easier to sell more to existing customers that know you and trust you than to acquire new customers.

Regarding work, the only time success comes before work is in the dictionary. You need to put in the work before you reap your rewards.

As a newbie in the networking game, I, too, have been confounded by it. Part of my problem has been the concept of going along to make friends and build relationships. This doesn't work for me - I'm not into being presented with a pool of people to make friends with - I prefer to choose my own.
Then finally, last week, after a year of trying to 'get it', I finally did. It's simply about 'putting it out there' and finding what else is out there. If you turn up enough times, people will remembr you. If you hae a product or provide a service that has some value, you just have to work out how to express that value to the people you're talking to.
The catch is, though, while networking can be handy, you can't use it as your sole means of advertising - it's just one of the many useful tools for expanding your business. And, as all the marketing gurus keep reminding us -test and measure, test and measure.
Someone once told me that if you get sales from 10% of the customers you're advertising to, you're doing really well. I don't know how true this is, but if you apply it to the networking room, that will give you an idea of how well it's working, or not.
I'll never be a networking junkie, but the comments about seeing what you can do for other people are very valid and encouraging. Go along without expectation and try to talk to someone new at each meeting - there's no point joining one of those clingy little groups where everyone knows each other and never mixes. Listen to what others do, and more importantly, how they do it and what works for them.
Good luck!

Posted by: Jenny Mosher on September 13, 2007 9:46 AM

Having arrived in Australia to set up a business from scratch with no contacts or business associates I too followed the how can I help you approach with great success.My whole purpose was to get to know the market and the way in which Australian Business differs from state to state, sport to sport and people to people.To be successful mybusiness needs to understand the ground rules. Its a simple reality the more you give out the more comes back.
So yes I am keen in making my Business a success but let me help my customers,competitors and business associates have a real benefit of meeting ME!

Posted by: stuart Norris on September 13, 2007 9:25 AM

It really all comes down to your attitude, if you enter into every meeting with a "servants heart" attitude, in other words 'who can I help today' you will be astonished by the returns on your time. I am proud of the fact that 96% of my business comes from referrals and that happens because I give so many to others.
The law of attraction is potent and "Like attracts like" was never more true than in the networking arena, every client I have taught this process to, will proudly acknowledge that it works.

Posted by: Brian Leaning-Mizen on September 13, 2007 8:54 AM

Networking should be treated like any other marketing initiative. Because we have limited time, we should put effort into intiatives that we can measure and has a chance of delivering a benefit.

To most people, networking is going to a function, meeting and talking to people. I have found that the most successful networking I ever did was to establish a discussion group for a group of professionals. I organised this on a monthly basis. I would provide practical technical training to small practitioners. It grew from 10 people a month to over 200 by word of mouth only.

These professionals have been referring consulting work ever since and the sessions are still being run today. They refer highly profitable work and they find the sessions invaluable.

The sessions involve commitment to develop and deliver, so there is a cost to doing this. But the payoff can be measured and the referral work is a huge reward for this commitment.

Posted by: trivia boy on September 13, 2007 8:15 AM

Networking is an art form which takes time to perfect. This means that to succeed at it, you have to be in it for the long haul, with a view that all you want to do is make friends, albeit within the context of the network.

What you also need is an offering with general appeal, enhanced by a specific (hopefully exciting) benefit.

(Some people refer to this benefit as a USP, but I don't because if you're too unique, your appeal will be limited to a too-small niche).

Finally, you must have a simple and catchy, yet credible, catchphrase that you can deliver in 20 seconds or less (the famed 'elevator pitch').

If you can do all that, you'll find networking to be successful, BUT you must be patient and you must be sincere!

Posted by: Grant Hyman on September 12, 2007 10:10 PM

I can truly say that my 'networks are equal to my networth'. I spent the first five years in business establishing an amazing array of networks and giving without the expectation of receiving. Now I am about to embark on the biggest commitment I have ever made to run 15 of my Small Business Big Brand marketing workshops right across Australia during October and November. As a result of my networking I have 'earnt the right' to ask my networks to support me in marketing these workshops to their own small business networks. During this week I have sent out 200 personal requests for people to support me in my endeavour and nearly 100 requests for support from major networking groups, companies and the media that I have strong relationships with. I have had an 80% 'YES we'll support you' response rate so far. Whilst it takes time and effort to build your networks it sure has been the most successful way of marketing for me - and not only that, I have made heaps of friends and become an integral part of my local community and the small business communities around the country. There's no doubt about it - networking works for me!

Posted by: Carolyn Stafford on September 12, 2007 9:02 PM

yes, sincerity and persistence have to be key in your approach.

simply handing out business cards is a good way to expand your network

Posted by: greenie on September 12, 2007 6:45 PM

Posted by: Evan Hadkins on September 12, 2007 11:21 AM

> Show me the money, tell me the figures, give me the evidence that it works.

Ahh! What I would give to know what type of marketing tool works the best and when.

This information is soooo hard to find out (very few people reporting their sales figures in detail).

Sigh. It is all a bit hit and miss

Posted by: amanda on September 12, 2007 3:33 PM

Networking does not mean you go to a meeting and then expect to get referralls from others just because by showing up. Show you really cares and truly appreciate being helped and do not hesitate to lend a helping hand to others too, it always goes both ways.

If you look at everyone walking in the room like a money tree then do not bother to go or do any networking since you have got the wrong asttiude.

Posted by: Frank Ho on September 12, 2007 3:20 PM

I don't disagree with you Evan, however ignore networking at your own peril.
I look at it as a great way to meet new people and new friends...and new clients.
I am a member of 2 Chambers of Commerce and make guest appearances at speed networking events and the like. I treat each as a social and a business occasion.
Mark

Posted by: Mark on September 12, 2007 2:19 PM

I'm a bit of a sceptic about networking.

If it works for one, this doesn't mean it works for all - and it can take years. What if the years of work was put into something else.

Show me the money, tell me the figures, give me the evidence that it works.